An all-female group of firefighters will be embarking on a gruelling 1,180 mile journey across Antarctica as they hope to inspire the next generation of women firefighters.
Speaking to Scottish presenter Lorraine Kelly this morning, Georgina Gilbert and Rebecca Rowe discussed their intense training schedule, travelling to different countries to experience all-weathers, and the mentality required for a trek like this.
Georgina feels that the complete shift in temperatures has shown them the possibilities are endless for women everywhere, saying: "It’s totally another level, as firefighters we are used to heat and smoke and things like that, but now we are putting ourselves into a completely different environment.
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"It’s going to be nothing short of totally challenging, but so amazing as well."
Rebecca added: "We’re trying to show that women can do anything, because you don’t see many female explorers, not nearly as much as male explorers.
“We want to go out and show women that you can do this sort of thing as well.
"We hope to inspire other women to have the confidence to go out there and achieve what they maybe want to do, but aren’t quite sure if they could do it.
“We want women to get their foot in the door for new opportunities, build confidence and just go for it.”
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The group has travelled to Norway for climate training and ski lessons in anticipation for the Arctic trek, and will be visiting Sweden at the end of March for more intense learning.
Georgina was full of praise for her team during the Norway trip, stating: "It was phenomenal, you talk about a learning curve, it was completely that!
"We went out there as non-skiers, so it was brutal and hard-going, but worth it.
“There’s no failure, there’s either learning or success, so we just had to get over each barrier we found and learn every single day.
“I’d like to think we came back as skiers, Nordic skiers in fact, but our guide person may dispute that!”
Rebecca is looking forward to the Sweden trip, and expects more challenges to come their way. She said: "Sweden will be another tough challenge for us to train in, as we will be doing some ice-hole drills, and entering the water - to build up resilience and endurance to the cold, so it’ll be tough.
“It’s also about how we deal with the aftermath, like getting out of the water, and learning to warm up safely and correctly.”
Georgina also highlighted that as much as physical fitness does indeed matter, the mentality of the team will play a big part in their success.
She added: "A positive mentality can take you a long way, I remember someone telling me once, if you’re struggling, smile, even if you dont want to.
"It does elevate your mood, and can make a difference of up to 5 per cent."
Lorraine also asked if the team will be going all out to experience the trip as people with biologically female reproductive systems - that can bring challenges within themselves, such as periods, HRT and the menopause.
Georgina said: "One of our teammates Nicky, has said 'I'm a woman and I'll do this challenge as such, so if I get my period that's fine.'
"A lot of the team are sat on the fence about stopping their periods for the trip, as are we, but we can make that decision later down the line.”
The Antarctic Fire Angels is the first all-female team to take on the 1,180 mile (1,900km) expedition, planned for 2023.
On the group's Twitter account, they summarise their mission as: "6 female Firefighters crossing Antarctica(1900km)to raise awareness of mental health & empower girls, women & future generation."
You can find out more about the Antarctic Fire Angels on their website, right here.
